Muscules In The Family.....

~~~My girls aged 11 and 3 respectively,are big time into,muscle building these days. I understand,my little one is just too small to work out seriously,but,she just likes the Mommy, Didi and I,time we spend together,working out.I'm teaching some basic Yoga and Asana to my older one,She is a pro at Suryanamaskar, she can,effortlessly do 6 sets at one go!!!Weights right now are off limits,we normally do floor exercises (push ups,crunches,Pilates),In order to keep them motivated, I was sharing stories(facts)of their Great Grandpa, Great Grand Uncles and of course their Mango Aaj,( my dad) and their Maama's ( my brothers).My older child is full time into reading.What better way to learn about the Family history and keep yourself entertained in a healthy way ,while gaining knowledge and learning more about their background.... so here goes....

           As a child, growing up with a house full of, Muscular Men,made me feel safe. What more,we had a house gym right behind our house, in our courtyard.When I say "Gym",don't imagine a gym with all the modern equipments.This is way back in the 70's, back home in Southern India, Although the Men were busy,taking care of our large Business,They made it a point  and very religiously followed their workout routine,and no excuses were accepted. This Gym was exclusively for the "Men" of the Household, we kids were exceptions.... But,the Ladies of the house were forbidden to enter the Gym. The Men took their work out time, very seriously,almost like a daily ritual.I remember watching my Grandpa,performing the Puja (worship) we had a big idol of Lord Hanuman,if you guys aint aware of Lord Hanuman,~~ here goes {* Hanuman is the mightiest and the most powerful of the God's,He has played a very vital role in the epic Ramayan~~ He fought against Ravan and rescued,Sita wife of Rama~~ Hanuman is said to have immense power/strength that he lifted a Mountain on his palm and flew~~ Well in short someone like Superman !! *}So,in India its common to see,Body Builders and Weight Lifters worshiping,Lord Hanuman at their Gyms.

              Okay,now let me get back to my,Muscular Men, ;)...so, as I said,we as kids ( me and my siblings and other younger cousins) were allowed to watch--- the weights being lifted and all the body building which was going on around us, But,not allowed to touch any of the weights.These weights were made out of Wood !!!(remember I'm talking about way back and plus home gym).The weights,Dumbbells,there was one particular weight,which looked like a huge club it may have been like 40-50 lb.My grandpa called it the (karel).I have seen my grandpa,lift this Karel, way up over his head,in one hand,and swirl it around his head...hmm--- wow,how excited I used to get watching him do this,I guess this was used, to develop the muscle in the  fore arm.I have seen,my cousin doing the---- *Clean and Jerk, Jerk and Lift *He would sometimes ask one of us to sit on him, when he did his Push Ups or ask us to (two on each arm) cling on his Arm and he would lift us up like weights... goshhh...After,spending a couple of hrs or more in the gym and working out to their satisfaction, My grandpa, would ask one of the boys,to go fetch some boiled eggs and tall glasses of Almond milk,which is already prepared and kept ready by the Ladies of the House,not just that,we had our very own masseur who would come by and massage the tired,sweaty men, they would get oil massage~~ wow,that sounds like Fun isn't it ??? for all that hard work they did, they totally needed it,..ufff...I'm jealous...hehe

          Its,no exaggeration,if I said,All the men in the Family were Muscular.My oldest cousin brother,Satish Rao was a professional Weight lifter and a Body Builder,He has won many Trophies,on the National Level and was a Gold Medalist, same with his Dad ( my uncle).One of my uncles,was into wrestling..( hobby wrestling)....never saw him wrestle though :( ( I was not allowed to go to the wrestling area).So I grew up seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger Magazines, all around the house ( my cousin imported them).....So,working out was something which came very naturally to us,Sadly No women / girls in the family were allowed to work out... ( remember I'm talking about some 30+ yrs ago)

          Although we had water connections through out the house and in the courtyard,I would often see my Dad,drawing water from our Well and he would water, our huge coconut garden,and I would wonder-- Why..???.With the minimum of equipments around, they build their bodies to perfection !! Did you know, pulling water from the well, is a total work out for the whole body!! well I dint either,but now I know.. :)

      At dawn,the men would wake up and off they would go to the Gym,and strip down to their Langot ( google for info on Langot ) and may be that's the reason why,Ladies of the house were forbidden to enter the gym *wink* hehe...and  all that hard work gave them...Sculptured Bodies to perfection...My grandpa,older uncle and my older cousin are no more now...But, they are fondly remembered,by all of us,for their Discipline,Dedication and Passion. :)   Love you~~~ Papa Ajja, Mantu and Satish Anna ...Muah !!!